Planter.



No. 727,285. PATENTED MAY 5,1903.

J. P. CALDWELL.

PLAN THE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10 1902. H0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ATTORNEYS.

No. 727,285. PATENTED MAY 5, 1903.

J. P. CALDWELL.

PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10,

mm MODEL. 2 SHBETSSHEET z.

r l E [Tlgll'llllllll WITNESSES: f INVENTOR W Zj jainemfilza (ZzZda/aZZA TTORNE Y8.

Patented May 5, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES PHILO CALDWELL, OF WINNSBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA;

PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 727,285, dated 5,1903.

Application filed July 10, 1902. sermnmiiaos'o. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES PHILo CALD- WELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and'a resident of Winnsboro, in the county of Fairfield andState of South Carolina, have in vented a new and Improved Planter, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact descripnon.

My invention relates to an improvement upon the planter a patent forwhich'wasgranted to me February 20, 1900, No. 643,942.

The purpose of the invention is to so construct the seedplanting wheelthat it may be used at will for planting cotton-seed or such smallerseed as peas and corn, the dropping mechanism of the Wheel beingautomatically operated, and to provide means whereby any portion of thesaid seed-dropping mechanism may be rendered inactive, so that larger orsmaller seed may be planted or the seed planted at desired intervalsapart, thus dispensing with the necessity of chopping out the rows ofcotton-plants, for example, after the plants have grown.

Another purpose of the invention is to so construct the machine that afurrow will be openedand the seed automatically covered and the coveringrolled down and, further, to construct the machine in such-manner thatit may be utilized for distributing fertilizing material in greater orless quantities and also to provide agitating devices for the bulk ofthe seed and the fertilizing material.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved machine adapted as aplanter. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the rear portion of themachine, showing the seed-dropping wheel in side elevation. Fig. 3 is avertical transverse section taken practically on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the guard employed in connection withthe seeddropping wheel. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectionthrough the rear portion of the machine, showing its adaptation as-afertilizer-distributer, the section being taken practically on'the line5 5 of Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section taken practicallyon the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the traywhich is introduced into the hopper of the machine when the machine isto be used for distributing fertilizing ma terial', and Fig. 8 is avertical longitudinal section through an end portion of the tray,

A represents ahorizontal skeleton frame, from the the rear portion ofwhich substantially triangular sideboards 10 are carried upward inparallelism, and these side boards 10 are connected at the front and atthe rear by partitions 11, which incline downward in direction of eachother, being separated at their lower ends, which partitions, togetherwith the side boards 10, constitute a hopper B. The space between thefront and rear inclined partitions 11 is bridged by an upwardly-archedpartition 12, having flanges 12, which are attached to the inner facesof the inclined end partitions l1, and at the cen-- tral portion of thearched bottom 12 of the hopper B a longitudinal slot 12 is produced.

At the outer surface of each side board 10 of the hopper B substantiallytriangular skeleton frames 13 are located, and these frames 18 arepreferably made of metal, the

upper ends of the frames being contracted and located centrally withrespect to the front and rear edges of the side boards 10, and thebottom or base portions of the metal frames 13 are attached to the mainframe A, as is shown in Fig. 1.

At the central portion of the base of each metal frame 13 a bearing 14;is formed, which extends into the sides 10 of the hopper at a pointbelow the bottom thereof, as is shown in Figs. and 6, and at the upperportion of each skeleton frame 13 a second bearing 15 is formed,extending through the said sides of the hopper into the same, as is alsoshown in Figs. 3 and 6, so that the frames 13 may be properly calledbearing-frames.

The main frame A is provided with a supporting-wheel16, located in frontof the hopper and mounted upon a suitable axle 17, journaled in properbearings carried by the main frame A, and at one end of the axle 17 asprocket-wheel 18 is secured.

At the forward end of the main frame A a ICO ened by suitable bolts 23.

clevis 19 is located, and a standard 20 is carried'by the main frame atthe rear of the clevis 19. A furrow-opener 21, of any suitableconstruction, is secu red to the lower end of the said standard 20, asis shown in Fig. 1. Handles 22 are secured to the side portions of thehopper B, extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, as is also shownin Fig. 1, and the side sections 10 of the hopper B at their lowerportions, and likewise the rear portions of the main frame A, arestrength- These bolts serve likewise to holdthe bearing-frames 13 inposition on the main frame.

Furrow-closers are located at the rear of the main frame A. Thesefurrow-closers consist of shank members 24, which are secured to themain frame A at the rear portion of the said frame and extend downwardand rearward, their lower ends being curved inward in direction of eachother, and the said lower ends are more or less spoon-shaped, as

is shown at 25 in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, so as to gather up the dirt anddistribute the dirt thus gathered over the seed deposited in the furrowmade by the furrow-opener 21.

In addition -to the covering devices just described means are providedfor packing the earth loosely deposited by the covering devices on theseed, and said packing devices consist of arms 26, which likewise extendfrom the rear end of the frame A downward and rearward, widening attheir lower portion, as is shown best in Fig. 3, and between the widerportions of the arms 26 a roller 27 is mounted to turn, which roller islongitudinally-concaved. Preferably the arms of the covering devices areattached to theouter faces of the main frame A, and the arms'for thepacking device are attached to the inner faces of said main frame, as isalso shown in Fig. 3.

A shaft 28 is removably placed in the bearings 14, and on the said shaft28 a seed-drop wheel G is securely yet removably fastened. The saidwheel is so placed that its periphery is located just below the slot 12in the arched bottomofthehopperB. Theseed-dropwheel C consists of a diskbody 29, having a peripheral flange extending beyond one of its faces,and upon the said disk body within the said disk flange and inengagement with said flange a series of cylinders 30 is formed. Thesecylinders are preferablyin sets of different diameters, some of thecylinders being large and the others small. The larger cylinders areadapted to be used when cottonseed or seed of similar character is to beplanted, and the smaller cylinders are brought into operation whensmaller seed, such as corn or peas, are to be planted. As shown, thelarge and the small cylinders are alternately arranged. .An opening ismade inthe peripheral flange of the seed-drop wheel at the outer end ofeach cylinder, and each cylinder 30 is provided with a longitudinal slot31 at its outer face extending from a point near its center through itsinner edge in communication with the interior of the cylinder, and saidslot is likewise carried through a transverse flange 32, likewiselocated at the outer face of each cylinder at its inner end.

Within each cylinder 30 a plunger 33 is mounted to loosely slide, and atthe inner portion of each plunger a wing 34 extends out loosely throughthe slot 31in the cylinder receiving the plunger, and when the plungeris not in use it is held within this cylinder with its outer end flushwith the outer pe ripheral surface of the seed-drop wheel by 'means of acotter-pin 35 or its equivalent passed through a suitable aperture inthe wing 34 of the plunger at a point above the flange 32 of thecylinder; but when a cylinder is in use the plunger of the cylinderoperates through gravity the moment the cotterpin 35 is removed.

A ratchet-wheel 35 is secured on the shaft 28 within the line ofcylinders 30, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and a tooth of the saidratchet-wheel is brough tbeneath each plunger of each cylinder 30 thatis required to be used when the cotter-pins 35 or their equivalents areremoved. The teeth 36 of the ratchet- Wheel 35 are curved, the curvatureof each tooth rising gradually from the higher portion of the nexttooth, and when theratchet-wheel 35 is so turned on the shaft 28 as tobring the crown portion of a tooth opposite a plunger the plunger candrop but a slight distance out from its cylinder, and consequently onlya small quantity of seed can be taken up by the cylinder; but when theratchet-wheel 35 is adjusted to bring the plunger of a cylinder oppositethat portion of a tooth connecting with the rising section of anadjacent tooth the plunger of the cylinder will leave the said cylindera sufficient distance to enable the cylinder to hold a quantity of seed,and in this manner, through the adjustment of the ratchet-wheel 35, theplungers may be set so that the cylinders will receive a greater or aless quantity of seed for planting.

In order to prevent the seed from dropping from the cylinders as theseed-drop wheel 0 is revolved and until the cylinder reaches practicallya lower vertical position, a guard 37 is attached to the forward portionof the hopper B, extending downward along the front of the seed-dropwheel in quite close relation thereto, being curved correspondingly tothe wheel, and in order that the seed shall not drag or wear against theguard 37 the said guard is provided in its curved body portion a with acentral longitudinal channel 03, and at the top of the body a of theguard a flange a is provided, adapted for attachment to the hopper, asis shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

A sprocket-wheel 3 8 is attached to the outer end of the shaft 28, and asimilar wheel 40 is attached to the outer end of the upper shaft 39,journaled in the upper bearings 15 of the bearing-frame 13, and both ofthe shafts 39 and 28 are driven by a chain belt 43, engaging thesprocket-wheels 38 and 40, being passed over the sprocket-wheel 18 onthe shaft 17 of the supporting-wheel 16. The upper shaft 39 is anagitator-shaft, and, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, carries agitators Dwithin the hopper B. These agitators consist of sleeves 41, adjustablysecured on the shaft 39 by set-screws or their equivalents, and curvedfingers 42, which extend from the said sleeves, the fingers of the twosleeves being curved in direction of each other, yet the sleeves are soadjusted on the shaft 39 as to bring the fingers of one sleeve betweenthe fingers of the opposing sleeve. In this manner it is obvious thatthe seed in the hopper will not cling together, as it will be thoroughlyseparated by the action of the stirrers or agitators D.

The toothed Wheel 35 may properly be termed a controlling-wheel, as byits adjustment the depth of the seed-receiving cyl inders 30 isregulated, and consequently the amount of seed dropped by each of saidcylinders.

In the adaptation of the machine for distributing fertilizing material,an auxiliary stirrer or agitator D" is secured upon the shaft 39 betweenthe initial stirrers or agitators D, as is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, andsaid auxiliary stirrer D consists of a sleeve 44, secured upon the shaft39, and radial fingers 45, extending in a preferably straight line fromthe sleeve, the outer ends of which fingers are usually more or lesspointed. The seed-drop wheel 0 is removed, and likewise its shaft 28,and in its stead a vertical chute 46 is substituted, its upper portionfitting to the convexed bottom 12 of the hopper B, as is shown in Fig.5, and said chute is attached to the bottom portions of the forward andrear partitions ll of the said hopper B through extensions 46, as isalso shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Further, when the machine is to be used fordistributing fertilizing material a tray'E is employed in the bottomportion of the hopper B, whereby to control the quantity of materialpassing through the chute 46 in a given length of time. This tray isshown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 and is fitted to the bottom portion of thehopper B, being usually temporarily attached to the front and rearpartitions 11 of the hopper by screws or like devices passed throughapertures 47 in its ends, and at the under side of the end sections ofthe tray longitudinal depressions 47 are produced. (Best shown in Fig.7.)

In the central portion of the bottom of the tray E a longitudinalopening 6 is produced, and this opening at the under surface of the trayis surrounded and the tray at such point is reinforced by a stout plate43, having an opening therein corresponding to and registering with theopening 6 in the bottom of the tray. The said reinforcing-plate 48 hasdownwardly-extending end flanges 49, slotted to admit of the freepassage through them of.

end extensions 51 from a cut-off plate 50,

levers 52, loosely connected with the end extensions 51 of the cut-offplate 50, which levers are located in the depressions 47 and are pivotedto the tray E near their outer ends by suitable pivots 53. The levers 52extend up beyond the ends of the tray and terminate at their upperextremities in handles 54. hen the tray E is in position in the hopperB, the projecting portions of the levers 52 rest upon the ends of thehopper, as is shown in Fig. 5, and the handle ends of the levers arereadily accessible to adjust the cut-off plate when desired.

When the machine is used to distribute fertilizing material, thedriving-belt of the machine is passed directly from the sprocketwheel 40on the shaft 39 to the sprocket-Wheel 18 on the shaft of thesupporting-wheel 16.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a planter, a suitable hopper for the seed to beplanted, a seed-drop wheel having measuring-cylinders in communicationwith the interior of said hopper, to receive and convey therefrom apredetermined quantity of seed for each hill to be planted, saidcylinders having their outlet-openings around the periphery of theseed-drop wheel and a rigid curved guard for said wheel extending overits front periphery from the hopper to the point where it is desired todischarge the seed into the furrow, said guard having a longitudinalchannel on its inner face extending from the top to the bottom thereofin registration with the path of the measuring-cylinders, to preventsolid seeds from being bruised or crushed against said guard by therevolving of the Wheel as specified.

2. In a planter, a hopper having an opening in its bottom, a removableshaft located below the said opening of the hopper, a seeddrop wheelmounted on said shaft, carrying cylinders, said cylinders being an equaldistance from each other and made in two sizes, a larger and a smaller,the large and small cylinders beingalternately arranged around theperiphery of the seed-drop wheel, gravity-plungers operating in thecylinders to expel the seed therefrom, the said cylinders extending tothe outer peripheral surface of the wheel and each provided withindependent means whereby it may be thrown out of op erative relation tothe planter, a controllingwheel mounted on the same shaft with :theseed-drop wheel and provided with curved teeth adapted to engage withthe inner ends of the plungers of the said cylinders, as set forth.

3. In a planter, a hopper having an opening in its bottom, a removableshaft located below the said opening of the hopper, a seeddrop wheelmounted on said shaft and carrying two sets of cylinders, comprising amain set, four in number and of equal size arranged equidistant fromeach other around the periphery of the wheel, and an auxiliary set ofsmaller-sized cylinders also four in number and of equal size with eachother and arranged around the periphery of the wheel midway between thecylinders of the main set, the inner ends of both sets of cylindersbeing the same distance from the center of the seed-drop wheel,gravity-plungers of equal length operating in the cylinders, the saidcylinders opening on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel and eachadapted to be thrown out of operative relation to theplanter, acontrollingwheelmounted on the same shaft with the seed-drop wheel andprovided with inclined teeth adapted to engage the in-' ner ends of theplungers of said cylinders, and a rigid guard for said wheel having a1ongitudinal channel extendingthe entire length of its inner face, saidguard extending down the front periphery of the wheel from the hopper tothe point where it is desired to discharge the seed into the furrow, asspecified and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with a planter having a suitable hopper for the seedto be planted,

a seed-drop wheel having measuring-cylinders in communication with theinterior of said hopper to receive and convey therefrom a predeterminedquantity of seed for each hill to be planted, said cylinders havingtheir outlet-openings around the periphery of the seeddrop wheel, andgravity-plungers in said cylinders to expel the seed therefrom, saidcylinders being each provided with independent means whereby they may bethrown out of operative relation to the planter, of a rigid guard forsaid wheel extending down the front periphery thereof from the hopper tothe point where it is desired to discharge the seed into the furrow,said guard having a small longitudinal channel extending the entirelength of its inner face and in registration with thepath of themeasuring-cylinders, whereby the gravity-plungers in the cylinders holdthe seed therein in firm contact with the inner face of said guard,ready to he suddenly discharged therefrom when the end of the guard isreached without subjecting the seed to the danger of being crushedbetween said wheel and guard, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specificationin thepresence of two subscribing- Witnesses.

JAMES PHILO CALDWELL.

Witnesses:

S. T. BEATY, WILEY L. DERRICK.

